needs-and partisans.
China, have never lost faith in
The garden plant called
"To me,
thyme is the
herbal remedies. Along with
purple foxglove, or digitalis,
queen of herbs," remarked
contemporary methods of
holds in its leaves the
chef Henry Haller of the
Western medicine, they still
formula for drugs widely
White House, when he showed use traditional prescriptions
prescribed for heart failure
me around the Jacqueline
known for centuries, even
and other cardiac ills.
Kennedy Garden, which was
for millennia.
One of the most successful
conceived soon after
As interest in herbs
treatments yet developed
President Kennedy's
spreads worldwide, scientists
against childhood leukemia
Inauguration. "Thyme
of both industrial and
and Hodgkin's disease was
is good for all kinds of
developing countries are
launched in the 1950s after a
meat and stuffings. I use
looking back to folklore's
minute amount of the cancer
rosemary for chicken and
raw-plant materials for clues
fighting principle was
pork," he added, "and we
to more effective and safer
isolated from the leaves of the
get tarragon for vinegar and
drugs of the future. In fact,
Madagascar periwinkle.
French sauces."
nature's handouts provided
East Indian snakeroot was
virtually the only drugs
dried and powdered more than
OUGH THE ROSE
available to any physician
2,000 years ago and fed to
is not generally regarded before 19th-century chemists
mentally ill people struck with
as a culinary
plant,
its
began
isolating
and
"moon
madness."
In natural
alluring scent puts it well
analyzing the healing
and synthetic form, its
within the herbal definition.
properties of medicinal
derivatives now supply
The ancient Greeks and
herbs. From these models
physicians with a leading drug
the imperial Romans made
came much of today's
to reduce high blood pressure.
perfumes and medicines from
pharmaceutical industry.
Common aspirin is totally
petals and other parts of the
As chemical science
synthetic today, but its natural
rose. With the modern
advanced in 20th-century
ancestor was an active
discovery of the rich vitamin C laboratories, man-made
compound found in the
content of rose hips, we
synthetics and semisynthetics drooping willow tree studied
know now that their medical
were gradually developed
by the first-century A.D.
pioneering was rooted in
from plant blueprints. Then
pharmacologist-naturalist
sound pharmaceutical
came mass-produced, purely
Pedanius Dioscorides.
principle.
chemical copies. Often simpler
Traveling extensively
Our own rose-petal dessert
and more precise than
along the Mediterranean
recalled the apothecary's rose
mother nature's compounds,
shore, Dioscorides managed
of the medieval town of
they now flood commercial
to collect hundreds of plant,
Provins,
France.
The
name
markets.
mineral,
and
animal
hints
at the delicious
Even
so,
it is estimated
specimens.
He then
illustrated
fragrance-and the sweet
that roughly 50 percent of the
and described them in a
smell of success-that this
millions of prescriptions
massive medical work that
rose gave to the town's dual
filled in the United States still
became the respected
industries-apothecary and
contain some natural
pharmacopoeia of the
confectionery-that
lasted
products.
Of the 25 percent
profession
for
the
next
1,600
dli, I~ft1e~
5p exit
p~fsk
from the 13th century almost
extracted solely from plants,
years. In it Dioscorides noted
up to the present. According to many remain surprisingly
that juices from the bark and
town records, many famous
important.
leaves of his white willow
characters, from Joan of Arc
Morphine, whose crude
eased aches related to colds
to Napoleon I, enjoyed the
substance was scraped from
and fevers treated now by the
apothecary's honey-treated
opium-poppy heads at least
small white tablet familiar
concoctions.
5,000 years ago, has never
around the world.
Every age has produced a
been profitably synthesized.
particular herbal culture and
And no other drug has been
ODERN HERBS
reflected it in religious rites,
more precious for pain
find increasing use as
superstitions, and daily tasks
control, though sometimes
substitutes for salt
of cooking and medication.
at high cost in addiction
and sugar, for synthetic
Some
nations, notably
and misery.
sleeping pills and energizing
390
National Geographic,March 1983
K>
d
a~
~AA
A